Decisions, decisions
by Skiadrum
Summary: Sting Eucliffe was kicked out of Sabertooth & ran into Lucy Heartfilia as he was walking the streets of Magnolia. This celestial mage has unintentionally caught the interest of the white dragon slayer himself, but little did he know that Natsu Dragneel held those more-than-just-a-friend feelings toward her as well. Deciding between two rival dragon slayers, who will Lucy choose!
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! This is my first fanfic so I hope you enjoy it. c: I feel like I've rushed some things but hopefully with your reviews and constructive criticism, I'll be able to improve my writing skills! I've already had chapter 1 and 2 posted on my Tumblr, but I haven't gotten any reviews or comments on it—only "likes." )': That's when I decided to publish this story on this site so I could get some advice from fellow writers! Anyways, I hope you all enjoy my first fic. c:

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Fairy Tail!

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**[Normal POV]**

The Grand Magic Games have concluded, and Fairy Tail has regained their title as the number one guild in Fiore. The guild in their headquarters was in their usual state—cheerfully destructive & rowdy.

Natsu and Gray were having their daily argument/fight. Erza was enjoying a piece of strawberry cake. Cana and Macao were having a drinking contest. Elfman was yelling out nonsense about "being a man." And Lucy was having a vanilla milkshake with Mirajane.

Mira looked at Lucy, noticing a sad expression on her face. "What's wrong Lucy? Aren't you glad that we won the Games?

"I'm ashamed.. I lost against Flare. I tried redeeming myself by winning against Minerva but she was too strong…" Lucy replied.

"Don't beat yourself up, Lucy! Everyone knows you did your best. Besides, I bet if your Uranometria spell wasn't nullified, you would have won that!" Mira assured. "And you ranked 2nd place in that Naval Battle! Be proud that you didn't come in last!"

Lucy's face brightened up a bit. "Thanks Mira, I guess I should be happy.. Because Fairy Tail won!"

Lucy finished her milkshake and stood up to talk to Levy, but as she took one step out of her seat, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach.

"Ouchhh.." Lucy whimpered, placing her hand on her stomach and gently falling to the floor.

Natsu noticed that Lucy was in pain, so he let go of Gray (causing the half-naked mage to fall on the ground). "Be careful, flame brain!" Gray yelled at Natsu.

Natsu ignored him and ran to Lucy's side. "Are you okay, Luce?"

Lucy rubbed her head and laughed to herself. "I think my body is still sore and recovering from the damage.."

Wendy ran towards the celestial mage. "Lucy-san! Are you okay?! Would you like me to heal you?"

"I'm fine, but thank you Wendy! You shouldn't waste your magic on me. I think I just need to take it easy and rest for a bit," Lucy replied as Natsu was helping her up.

The pink-haired dragon slayer was worried. He couldn't bare to see his best friend in pain. "Do you need me to walk you home, Lucy? After all, you almost collapsed after getting out of your seat!"

"I can handle it, Natsu. If anything, I can summon Loke and ask him for help."

Natsu was a little bit disappointed, but he smiled and nodded. Lucy grabbed her keys, and waved goodbye to everyone in the guild.

"See you tomorrow, Luce!" Natsu said, waving goodbye to her.

Lucy smiled and began walking home.

**~A few minutes later~**

"Open! Gate of the Canis Minor! Nikora!"

A white creature with a golden horn-like nose appeared. "Puun pyuun!"

"Hi Plue! Would you like to keep me company while I walk home?" Lucy said, smiling at the celestial spirit.

"Pyuuun!"

**[Lucy's POV]**

"Say, Plue.. Do you think I should have let Natsu walk me home? He seemed kind of disappointed when I said no.."

"PUUUUNN!"

"Of course I'd still want you to walk with me!" I giggled as the jealous Plue was playfully punching my leg.

Suddenly, I felt the same sharp pain in my stomach that I felt a few minutes ago in the guild. I fell on my knees and winced.

"Pyuuun…?"

"Don't worry Plue, you didn't hurt me." It was obvious I couldn't walk in this condition.. I could use Loke's help right now. "I feel too weak to summon two spirits at a time, so I'll see you later Plue!"

Plue went back to the spirit world. I reached for the small bag that held my keys and searched for Loke's. Right when I grabbed the key, a shadow from a tall figure hovered over me. I looked up to see a vaguely familiar face.

**[Sting's POV]**

I was walking around the streets of Magnolia to clear my mind. Ever since the Grand Magic Games ended, leaving Sabertooth in second place, I've been thinking—_how the hell did we lose?!_

I recalled many events—from the Chariot race, to my fight against Natsu-san. I didn't expect Fairy Tail to make a strong comeback. I thought I could actually defeat Natsu-san.

As I was passing by a local cake shop, I smelled a sweet, strawberry and vanilla scent.

_That scent seems so familiar._

Then it hit me. That blonde celestial mage from Fairy Tail has the same exact scent. She was the one who was tortured by Minerva in the Naval Battle. The one I was laughing at as she was suffering.

I shrugged. I felt kinda bad for her.. Wait, what? What am I saying?

I shook my guilt off and continued to walk. I looked ahead, and I saw a blonde girl on the ground. I casually walk over to her to help her up, but when she looked up, I couldn't believe who it was.

**[Normal POV]**

The shocked Sting took a few steps back after realizing the girl was the Fairy Tail celestial mage. Lucy rubbed her eyes and looked up once again—the figure in front of her was Sabertooth's Sting Eucliffe.

"W-W-What are YOU doing here?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Calm down, blondie. I'm just taking a walk." Sting walked towards Lucy and extended his hand out to her.

"The name's Lucy!" Lucy reached for his hand and stood up. All of a sudden, she felt the piercing pain in her stomach again. "Oww…"

"You okay?"

"I'm fine, I just need to rest at home for the night."

Sting had a feeling that Lucy was still injured from the Naval Battle. With the guilt building inside of him, he picked her up and hung her over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Lucy screamed. "What are you doing?! Put me down!"

"You can't walk home by yourself in your condition. Consider this a repayment of debt. Now quiet down, blondie."

Lucy settled down, knowing she can't break free of Sting's arms. As he was walking, she told him which way to go.

_Repayment of debt.. does he mean what Minerva did to me?_ Lucy thought to herself.

A few minutes pass and they reached Lucy's house. She noticed something.

"Hey.. don't you have an Exceed always by your side? Where is he?"

Sting stopped for a moment, almost causing Lucy to fall off his back.

"Sting?" Lucy asked.

"After our loss against Natsu-san and Gajeel-san, Master Giemma scolded Rogue and me." Sting said with an upset tone. "Lector stood up for us. He told Master how hard we were trying, and how he was proud of us.. But then…"

Lucy looked at him. You could see that he was holding back his tears.

"..But then Master looked at him in disgust, wondering why a cat was wearing the insignia of Sabertooth," Sting continued. "The next thing I know—he blasted at Lector, making him vanish in thin air."

Sting turned around—his back facing Lucy—to wipe away the droplets of tears that were running down his face. Lucy was speechless, but she walked towards him and embraced him from behind (Like she does to Natsu sometimes ;D).

After about a minute or two, she stood on the tip of her toes, looking over Sting's left shoulder to see his face. But instead, she noticed something missing.

"I apologize for asking, but where is your guild crest?!" Lucy asked as she let go of Sting to face him. "Don't tell me you got expelled!"

"I did. I attacked Master soon after he killed my partner.. my best friend." Sting then smiled slightly. "I punched him so hard that he coughed out blood."

"What about Rogue and his Exceed?"

"They're both safe. I visit them often, usually when they're home or out on a job, because I'm banned from setting foot in the Sabertooth headquarters." Sting noticed that the sun was nearly set. "Shouldn't you be getting some rest right now, instead of questioning my personal life?" He winked at Lucy.

You could see a hint of pink appear on Lucy's cheeks. "I-I-I didn't think you'd tell me such a depressing story!" She walked towards the door—with one hand unlocking it and the other on her stomach.

"Tch. Whatever." Sting picked up Lucy once again and carried her to her room. He then laid her on the bed, gently.

"Thanks. You know, it's getting pretty dark out.. If you need to, you're welcome to sleep here for the night."

"Here? As in, your bed with you?" Sting moved his face closer to Lucy's.

Lucy's face turned bloodshot red. She quickly moved away and pointed at a brown sofa that was near by. "ON THE COUCH!"

"I'm kidding, blondie. Thanks. Oh, and do you mind if I use your shower?"

"Go ahead. Let me see if I have any of Gray's clothes that you can wear." Lucy then walked over to her drawers.

"Oh? That Ice Make mage? I wonder why you even have his clothing in your house.." Sting said teasingly.

"…Because he, Erza, Natsu, and Happy crash my house sometimes! And he has the tendency to strip any where at any time.." Lucy replied, a sweat drop forming on the top of her head.

"I see.. Anyways. I don't need the clothes. I sleep naked."

Lucy immediately threw a white v-neck shirt and navy blue swimming trunks at Sting's head. "Not in my house!"

Sting smirked, taking the clothes off his head and then walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

**[Lucy's POV]**

_The nerve of that guy! Thinking he can do whatever he wants in my house! Whatever.. It's the least I can do since he helped me get home._

I changed into my yellow pajamas that had bunnies on them. I walked to the kitchen sink and washed my face & brushed my teeth. I learned to keep a spare toothbrush and toothpaste in the kitchen, because "surprise visitors" (Team Natsu) may hog the bathroom..

I then walked back to my room, laid in my bed, and eventually drifted into a nice, peaceful sleep.

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I feel like I rushed the ending. D': Anyways, I won't be posting up chapter 2 right away since I gotta sleep soon ;~; But I'd like to hear what you guys think about chapter 1! Natsu appears more in chapter 2 than in 1, that's all I have to say ;D Thanks for reading you guys and leave me reviews and tips~


	2. Chapter 2

Voila, chapter 2! As I stated before, I already had chapter 1 & 2 written and posted on my Tumblr—I just decided to share it here as well! (: I'm currently in the process of writing chapter 3, so it will probably be up within a week or two. But hopefully soon! I just have to get through this week of school and then I'll have a whole week off for Thanksgiving! :'D But then I have to dedicate some of my time into college apps, so I hope you guys understand!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters~

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**[Natsu's POV] ~A few minutes after Lucy fell asleep~**

Happy and I were walking to Lucy's house to make sure she got home safely.

"Natsu… Do you liiiike Lucy?" Happy asked as he put his paw over his mouth, holding in his laughter.

"What?" I replied. "Of course I do! I like everyone in Fairy Tail, except Gray!"

Happy shook his head and said, "That's not what I meant, but okay.." I then tilted my head, pretending to be clueless.

Of course I like Lucy. I like her a lot. She's more than just my nakama—she's my best friend. When I first met her in Hargeon Town, I thought she was a bit too chatty.. But I've always thought that she was so beautiful.

The thought of dating her never crossed my mind because, well, I feel as if she's not thinking about that sorta thing right now. Who knows if she even feels the same way? Regardless, I can't bring myself to confess just yet. I'm happy with the way things are going right now.

When we arrived at Lucy's house, I told Happy to fly to her window to see if she's there. My partner's eyes suddenly widened in shock.

"Natsu! You won't believe this!" Happy flew back towards me and lifted me off the ground, carrying me to the window.

I peeked inside and the first thing I see is Lucy. She was comfortably tucked in bed, laying on her side, her arms wrapped around a pillow. As I was admiring her flawless complexion, her lips curved into a tiny smile. _Thank God she's safe._

But my feelings of relief soon ended after I spotted Sting Eucliffe—half naked—in her room. (Sting is shirtless & is wearing the navy blue swimming trunks c: Oh and he had a towel hanging around his neck too! Mmm.. just imagining it makes me want to faint :'D!)

WHY IS THAT DRAGON KILLER IN **MY** BEST FRIEND'S ROOM?!

I felt my whole body heat up and I barged through the window, landing on Sting.

**[Normal POV]**

Fragments of window glass suddenly flew into the room. A collection of books and magazines fell off a bookshelf. The unexpected roars of the pink-haired dragon slayer woke the celestial mage up.

"NATSU?!" the previously sleeping Lucy screamed. "What are you doing breaking into my house like that?!"

"Why are YOU in Lucy's room?!" Natsu yelled at the blonde dragon slayer, disregarding Lucy. She jumped out of her bed and helped her best friend up.

"Nice to see you again, Natsu-san." Sting casually replied. He pushed himself up and brushed some dirt off his shoulder. "Your little guild mate here let me stay for the night since it's really dark out."

Natsu turned to Lucy with a puzzled expression. "Is that true, Luce?"

Lucy averted her eyes towards the floor and poked her two index fingers together. "Well.. On the way home, I fell to the ground again. That's when Sting saw me and helped me.. When we got home, I offered to let him sleep here because it gets really dangerous at night!"

Natsu felt a notional, stabbing pain in his chest._ 'Why did she let HIM walk her home, but not me?'_ he thought. "Lucy, I thought y—"

"You should be grateful, Natsu-san." Sting interrupted. "I could have just stood there and watched her struggle in pain." He walked towards the brown couch he was told to sleep on and laid down. "Now is attacking me any way of thanking me?"

Natsu growled and fire appeared on his right fist. He was about to attack Sting again until he felt Lucy's arms wrap around his chest.

"Natsu, stop! You're going to destroy my house!" Lucy yelled. "Now apologize to him!"

"WHAT?! WHY SHOULD I APOLOGIZE TO THAT SABERTOOTH ASS—" Lucy hit Natsu on the head, causing him to fall on the floor.

"Because you jumped to conclusions and attacked him! And not to mention, you trashed my room and broke my window… AGAIN!"

Natsu sat criss-cross and looked around the room. _'Damn. I really did make a mess.' _he thought. His sympathetic eyes then looked up to Lucy. "Sorry Luce.."

Lucy then motioned her index finger towards the blonde dragon slayer. The stubborn Natsu crossed his arms and looked the opposite direction. "..I'm sorry for attacking you, Sting."

"Tch. Whatever." Sting replied as he turned his body away from the two, signaling that he wants to go to sleep already.

Lucy helped Natsu up and rubbed his head gently. She walked him over to the window. "I'm sorry for hitting you.." she whispered, trying not to bother the annoyed Sting.

"It's okay, Luce. But this guy is from Sabertooth! I'm afraid he's going to hurt you." Natsu replied as he looked at her with worried eyes.

"Natsu.. Sting's not in Sabertooth anymore.." Lucy whispered, unaware that the latter could still hear her.

Natsu's eyes widened. As he opened his mouth to say something, Lucy placed a finger on his lips and then gave him a reassuring hug. "I'll be okay, Natsu. If anything happens, Loke and Virgo can force open their gates and save me."

The pink-haired dragon slayer smiled weakly at his best friend. He can't possibly trust that dragon killer to stay in the same room as her for the night. He didn't want to leave, but considering the fact that he practically demolished her room, he didn't want to upset her even more. "Okay Luce.. Be safe." He jumped on the window opening and looked back at Lucy, who was waving goodbye and giving him a 'don't-worry-about-me' smile. Natsu nodded back at her and then jumped out into the street.

Lucy sighed and turned around, her eyes greeted by the unpleasant mess that was in her room. As she was about to walk to her closet to get a broom and dustpan, she noticed Happy rummaging through her lingerie drawer.

The blue cat pulled out one of Lucy's bras (a light pink & black laced one, to be exact) and placed it over his head. "Lucy, what's this?" he asked, giggling.

Lucy, aggravated, snatched the bra and kicked Happy out of the window. (Like Erza did to Ichiya in the ep. 155 :3) The blue cat flew far into the city and yelled, "AYEEEEEEEE!"

The celestial mage turned around and heard Sting's laughter. "You didn't see that!" she exclaimed.

"You're a lot stronger than I thought you were, blondie." Sting said as he pulled himself up to sit. "And who gave you permission to tell that flame-head that I'm no longer in Sabertooth?"

"You heard me?" Lucy asked, but then realizing that dragon slayers have a good sense of smell AND hearing. "I'm sorry.. was I not supposed to?"

"Nahh chill, blondie. I'm just messing with you." Sting walked towards the closet and opened it—grabbing a broom and dustpan from inside.

"I-I-I can clean this mess myself!" Lucy said as she ran over to Sting, then holding on to the broom.

Sting turned around, unaware that she was right next to him. He accidentally & lightly bumped into her, and then looked down to see her looking right back at him.

Lucy blushed after realizing how close their faces were. She quickly took a few steps back—but suddenly tripped over a book. She shut her eyes, preparing for the hard fall. As she was waiting for the hard wood floor to make contact with her body, she felt strong arms wrap around her delicate head and her back.

"You're pretty clumsy, aren't you?"

Lucy opened her eyes to see Sting holding on to her. She straightened her body and turned away from him to hide her tomato-red face (blushing again, for the **second** time). "S-sorry about that."

"It's fine, blondie." Sting picked up the broom and started sweeping broken glass into the dustpan.

"I can take care of that myself!" Lucy said. "You might accidentally cut yourself.."

"Don't worry about it." Sting replied, continuing to gather all the glass pieces.

Lucy sighed and began picking up the books that were scattered throughout her room. She looked at Sting as he was still cleaning up the glass. She blushed again for the **third** time—realizing that he's still shirtless.

His muscles on his arms were defined at every angle. His collar bone was lining his neck and shoulders so perfectly. And his abs…

Lucy snapped out of her fantasy when Sting turned to her and asked where the trashcan was. Speechless, she pointed towards the kitchen and Sting left the room.

_'He's actually really handsome, now that I think about it.. Wait, Lucy what are you saying?!'_ Lucy thought to herself. She lightly slapped herself and placed her books and magazines back on the bookshelf.

Sting walked back into the room and put the broom and dustpan into the closet. He then walked towards the couch and laid himself back down, not noticing that Lucy was (somewhat) admiring him.

Lucy smiled shyly at him. "I'm sorry about Natsu, again. He's actually very protective of me.. You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"Of course not! Why would I feel pain caused by a first gen. dragon slayer?" Sting replied, obviously trying not to remember his battle against Natsu and Gajeel. He turned to Lucy and continued, "And I can tell. I'd be too, if I were him."

Blushing for the **fourth** time, Lucy quickly turned off her lights and laid down on her bed. Even though the room was almost pitch black, the two mages continued their conversation.

"By the way, didn't I tell you NOT to sleep naked in my house?" Lucy asked.

"I'm not completely naked though, am I?" Sting replied as he tucked his arms under his head.

"You're half naked!" Lucy replied, pulling a blanket over herself.

"I didn't think you'd mind." Sting said, smiling. "Goodnight, Lucy."

Lucy's face turned red once again (for the **fifth** time) for two reasons: 1) It's true—she actually didn't mind him being shirtless, even if she doesn't admit it. And 2) He called her by her name for once.

What is with this guy? Out of all people, Sting Eucliffe, a previous member of Sabertooth—Fairy Tail's rival guild, has unintentionally AND intentionally made Lucy's face heat up. Surprisingly enough, he's also been kind of a gentleman.. to say the least.

"Goodnight, Sting." Lucy said, smiling to herself. The two mages closed their eyes and eventually fell asleep.

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Oh Sting, you sly piece of sexiness. ;D I hope he wasn't too OOC, or too corny. ):

Natsu's getting quite jealous, ohoho. I wonder what he's gonna say to Lucy in the next chapter~

I hope you all enjoy this chapter! As stated in the beginning, I won't be publishing chapter 3 until probably next week, so stay tuned~ :'D Please leave reviews and tips for this newbie fanfic writer c: Until next time, ja'ne~


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